Common Agricultural Policy: Rural Development Support

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What money United Kingdom farmers will receive under the rural development schemes in 2006, compared with the England rural development programme.

Lord Bach: The planned expenditure available to farmers and other beneficiaries under EU co-financed rural development schemes in 2006 is set out in the England Rural Development Programme for 2000–06, as amended following the introduction of environmental stewardship. Full programme documentation, including expenditure tables, is available from the Defra website.
	If the noble Baroness would like information on expenditure under the rural development programmes for 2007–13, that will depend on decisions yet to be taken on:
	funds allocated to the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development under the negotiations on the future financing of the EU;
	the share of that funding allocated to the United Kingdom and, within the UK total, to England;
	the extent to which the UK is permitted to make transfers from subsidy payments to rural development schemes ("modulation"); and
	national co-financing of the EU expenditure.
	The share of rural development support allocated to individual measures under the Rural Development Regulation will depend in part on the overall total of expenditure available, and in part on ministerial decisions following a consultation later this year on how the rural development regulation is to be implemented in England. Some parameters have, however, already been set: the draft Rural Development Regulation on which political agreement was reached at the Agriculture Council meeting on 20 and 21 June establishes minimum percentages for the contribution from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development to each of three priority areas: improving competitiveness of farming and forestry (10 per cent), environment and land management (25 per cent), diversification and broader rural development (10 per cent) and leader (5 per cent).
	It is likely that the great majority of funding in England will be allocated to agri-environment schemes and to other measures covered by the environment and land management axis (which includes the measures listed at points (a) to (b), by the noble Baroness).

Armoured Vehicles: Training

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On what date it was envisaged that training for tanks and armoured vehicles by the Landmark Training consortium would begin; and on what date it is envisaged that training provided under other procurement strategies will begin.

Lord Drayson: Landmark Training would have taken over responsibility for existing training for armoured vehicles as from the date the contract commenced, with a four-year phase in for new and improved training as from 2007. No dates have yet been developed for alternative ways to deliver the capability within other procurement strategies, but our intent is to introduce new systems as from 2006.

Armoured Vehicles: Training

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps were taken to ensure that the costings involved in providing training for tanks and armoured vehicles by other procurement strategies are directly and fairly comparable with the prospective cost of the now abandoned private finance initiative contract.

Lord Drayson: As my right honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Adam Ingram) announced in his Written Ministerial Statement of 15 June, (Official Report, WS57), we did not proceed with the Landmark Training consortium's bid for the Armoured Vehicle Training Service (AVTS) because it did not offer an acceptable value for money solution. All our decisions have been made, and will continue to be made in exploring other procurement strategies, on a value for money basis. It is not our intent to commit more funding to other procurement strategies than would have been committed under the now abandoned private finance initiative.

Armoured Vehicles: Training

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they will take to ensure that training for tanks and armoured vehicles by other procurement strategies is at least as sufficient, timely and efficient as that which would have been provided under the now abandoned private finance initiative contract.

Lord Drayson: The AVTS solution and timescales could not be accepted as the deal did not represent value for money. The professional performance of our armoured fighting vehicle crews in Iraq demonstrates that we already have an effective training system. However, we are always seeking ways to improve that experience at better value for money. AVTS was one option we pursued. We intend to ensure that any other procurement strategies provide value for money and maintain the effectiveness of training for our Armed Forces.

Cabinet Office: Sponsorship of Public Bodies

Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the annual budget and the number of employees of each public body sponsored by the Cabinet Office for each of the past five years.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The annual expenditure details for those public bodies sponsored by the Cabinet Office since 2000 are shown in the attached table. Details for 2003–04 will be published shortly in Public Bodies 2005. Details for 2004–05 will be published in due course in Public Bodies 2006.
	With the exception of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), which is an executive body, all public bodies sponsored by the Cabinet Office in the period in question have advisory status. This means that they are supported by members of staff employed by the department. During the period that the EOC was sponsored by the Cabinet Office, the number of staff employed by the EOC as at 31 March 2001 was 155. As at 31 March 2002, this had dropped to 126.
	More detailed information about individual bodies can be found in the Public Bodies Directory which is available on the Internet at www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/ndpb/ndpb.nsf. This and previous editions of the annual directory are available in the Library.
	
		
			  Expenditure Details 
			  2000–012001–022002–03 
			 Name ofPublic Body Total Gross Expenditure Gross Expenditure Covered by Government Grant Expenditure by Cabinet Office Total Gross Expenditure Gross Expenditure Covered by Government Grant Expenditure by Cabinet Office Total Gross Expenditure Gross Expenditure Covered by Government Grant Expenditure by Cabinet Office 
			 Advisory Committee on Advertising – – £26,000 – – – – – £4,000 
			 Advisory Committee on Business Appointments – – £64,000 – – £59,000 – – £61,000 
			 Advisory Panel on Crown Copyright 1 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A – – £63,000 
			 Better Regulation Task Force – – £416,000 – – £419,582 – – £517,000 
			 Civil Service Appeal Board – – £312,000 – – £374,000 – – £393,377 
			 Committee on Standards in Public Life – – £420,000 – – £449,000 – – £638,451 
			 Equal Opportunities Commission 2 £9,622,000 £8,382,000 – £9,661,850 £8,845,350 – N/A N/A N/A 
			 Honours Scrutiny Committee – – – – – – – – – 
			 House of Lords Appointments Commission – – £248,000 – – £143,000 – – £120,000 
			 Security Commission – – £6,000 – – £6,500 – – £7,000 
			 Security Vetting Appeals Panel – – £14,000 – – £17,000 – – £24,000 
			 Senior Salaries Review Body 3 £570,000 – – £786,000 – – – – – 
			 Women's National Commission 2 – – £250,000 – – £253,000 N/A N/A N/A 
		
	
	1 Established in April 2003. From June 2004 renamed Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information.
	2 Transferred to the Department of Trade and Industry in May 2002.
	3 Secretariat provided by the Office of Manpower Economics (OME), part of the DTI. The costs of the OME are borne by the DTI. For 2002–03 the costs of the SSRB are not separately identifiable.
	Source: Annual Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies.

Care Homes

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will amend the national minimum standards for care homes to state explicitly that fresh drinking water must be available at all times to residents in addition to other hot and cold drinks as recommended by Care Standard 15.

Lord Warner: The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) is responsible for inspecting care homes in accordance with statutory regulations and national minimum standards (NMS). We understand from the chair of CSCI that it has issued guidance to their inspectors on the management of nutrition and dietary care for older people in care homes. This includes a set of triggers linked to NMS and focused on outcomes.
	If problems are identified, the inspector will take action to address these, including referring to a state registered dietician, general practitioner or district nurse as appropriate. In 2004–05, just over 4 per cent of complaints about regulated services concerned food and drink.
	In addition, CSCI is liaising with Water UK to look at producing guidance, both for CSCI inspectors and care sector providers, on the issue of fresh drinking water in care homes for adults and the potential health benefits.
	The Department of Health is currently reviewing the national minimum standards for adult social care, including care homes. As part of the review, the department will carefully consider the case for change to this standard. It plans to complete the review in 2006.

Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000: Section 61

The Earl of Listowel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they plan to implement Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 which abolishes the sentence of detention in a young offender institution.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: No decision has yet been made as to the timing of the implementation of Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000.

Driving: Mobile Telephones

Lord Jacobs: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many successful prosecutions there have been since December 2003 for the offence of speaking on a hand-held mobile telephone while driving; and how many fines have been issued for this offence.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Available information for England and Wales for 2003 on the number of fixed penalty notices and court fines ordered to be paid for the new offence (introduced as from 1 December 2003) of driving while using a hand-held mobile telephone is given in the table. Data for 2004 will be available in early 2006.The information requested is not currently available for Scotland. The most up-to-date prosecutions data currently held by the Northern Ireland Office are those for 2003. The offence of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving was not introduced in Northern Ireland until 1 February 2004. Use of a hands-free mobile phone is not part of the new offence.
	
		Fixed penalty notices and court proceedings data for the offence of use of hand-held mobile phone while driving 1 , England and Wales 2003 -- Number of offences
		
			  Type of action 
			  Court proceedings 2   Fixed Penalties  
			 Police Force Area Totalfindings ofguilt Amount offines (£) Number oftickets 3 Estimated revenue (£) 
			 England and Wales 1 30 1,888 56,640 
		
	
	1 Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, Regulations 110 (1), 110 (2) and 110 (3). Introduced 1 December 2003.
	2 Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
	3 Only covers tickets paid where there is no further action.
	 Estimate based on fixed penalty charge of £30.
	 In the month of December 2003.

European Constitutional Treaty

Lord Windlesham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Under what circumstances they will now consider holding a referendum on the draft European Constitutional Treaty.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has said on many occasions, if the UK were to proceed with ratification of the EU Constitutional Treaty we will hold a referendum.

Lord Birt

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the role of the Lord Birt as the Prime Minister's strategy adviser includes offering advice on the role and structure of H M Treasury.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Lord Birt provides private internal advice to the Prime Minister and other Cabinet Ministers on a range of issues.

Lord Birt

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 20 June (WA 159), which organisations the Lord Birt has met since his appointment as the Prime Minister's strategy adviser.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Lord Birt has meetings with a wide range of organisations in his role as the Prime Minister's unpaid adviser.

Lord Birt

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	From which departments the Prime Minister's strategy adviser, the Lord Birt, has had access to government papers; and
	Whether the Prime Minister's strategy adviser, the Lord Birt, has had access to papers from MI5, the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), the Joint Intelligence Committee or the Government Communications Headquarters.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Lord Birt is the Prime Minister's unpaid strategy adviser. He provides the Prime Minister and other Cabinet Ministers with advice on a wide range of issues. He has access to papers as necessary in order to fulfil his remit.

Lord Birt

Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Prime Minister's Strategy Adviser, the Lord Birt, had access to the two Iraq dossiers prior to their publication in September 2002 and February 2003.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: No. The issue of access to the Iraq dossiers is covered in the report of Lord Hutton, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Lord Birt

Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What meetings of the Cabinet the Prime Minister's strategy adviser, the Lord Birt, has attended; and for what purpose.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Lord Birt does not attend meetings of the Cabinet.

Lord Birt

Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On what date the Prime Minister's strategy adviser, the Lord Birt, last met (a) the Secretary of State for Transport; (b) the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport; and (c) Mr Peter Hendy, chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Lord Birt provides the Prime Minister and other Ministers with private advice. As part of this process, he meets many people, both in and outside government. Information relating to the details of such meetings is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of advice to Ministers.

Lord Birt

Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many hours on average per week the Prime Minister's strategy adviser, the Lord Birt, spends on official business in Number 10 Downing Street.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Lord Birt is the Prime Minister's unpaid strategy adviser. He works whatever hours are necessary to meet his work programme.

McKinsey and Co.

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	(a) whether McKinsey and Company Incorporated is currently carrying out any work for the Department for Education and Skills; (b) how many projects the firm has carried out for the department during each year in the past five years; (c) for each project, how long such work lasted and how many McKinsey and Company employees were involved; (d) what was the nature of the contracts with the company; and (e) what was the total value of payments made by the department to McKinsey and Company Incorporated in each of the past five years.

Lord Adonis: (a) The company trading as McKinsey and Co. Incorporated is not currently carrying out any work for my department.
	(b) There have been no projects with the company trading as McKinsey and Company Incorporated.
	(c) There were no projects with the company trading as McKinsey and Company Incorporated.
	(d) There were no contracts with the company trading as McKinsey and Company Incorporated.
	(e) There were no payments to the company trading as McKinsey and Company Incorporated. Although the department holds no information about contracts led by other grant funded bodies, it is aware that the Princes Trust, which received £145,781 in financial year 2002–03 as a grant from the department, used part of it for consultancy work undertaken by the company trading as McKinsey and Company.

McKinsey and Co.

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the United Kingdom-based operation of McKinsey and Company Incorporated is currently carrying out work for any executive non-department public body, advisory non-department public body or national health service body sponsored by the Department of Health; and, if so (a) how many projects the firm has carried out for each of those bodies in the past five years; (b) for each project, how long such work lasted and how many McKinsey employees were involved; (c) what was the nature of the contracts with each of the bodies; and (d) what was the total value of payments made by each such body to the company in each of the past five years.

Lord Warner: None except for Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent Regulator of National Health Service Foundation Trusts). The chairman of Monitor wrote to the noble Lord on 30 June about this and a copy of his reply has been placed in the Library.

McKinsey and Co.

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the United Kingdom-based operation of McKinsey and Company Incorporated is currently carrying out work for any executive non-department public body or advisory non-department public body sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills; and, if so (a) how many projects the firm has carried out for each of those bodies in the past five years; (b) for each project, how long such work lasted and how many McKinsey employees were involved; (c) what was the nature of the contracts with each of the bodies; and (d) what was the total value of payments made by each such body to the company in each of the past five years.

Lord Adonis: The Department for Education and Skills has not made any payments to McKinsey and Company Incorporated in the past five years. The Department for Education and Skills holds no information about contracts let by the non-departmental public bodies it sponsors. While the department holds no information about contracts let by other grant funded bodies, I am aware that the Princes Trust, which received £145,781 in financial year 2002–03 as a grant from the department, used part of it for consultancy work undertaken by McKinsey and Company Incorporated.

McKinsey and Co.

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the United Kingdom-based operation of McKinsey and Company Incorporated is currently carrying out work for any executive non-department public body or advisory non-department public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and, if so (a) how many projects the firm has carried out for each of those bodies in the past five years; (b) for each project, how long such work lasted, and how many McKinsey employees were involved; (c) what was the nature of the contracts with each of the bodies; and (d) what was the total value of payments made by each such body to the company in each of the past five years.

Lord Bach: No information is held centrally on any work currently being carried out by McKinsey and Company Incorporated for any of Defra's executive non-department public bodies or advisory non-department public bodies sponsored by the department. Such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

National Schools Competition Framework

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Who are the partners involved in the development of the National Schools Competition Framework; and
	Which national governing bodies of sport were consulted in formulating the content of the National Schools Competition Framework; and
	Whether they will place a copy of the National Schools Competition Framework in the Library of the House; and
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Adonis on 13 June (WA 108), which School Sports Partnerships have employed competition managers; and which are the 17 School Sports Partnerships due to appoint a competition manager by the end of September 2005; and
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Adonis on 13 June (WA 108), what is the breakdown of the £37,500 grant given to each School Sports Partnerships to cover the costs of a competition manager; who determines the salary of the competition manager; what is regarded as the level of a "modest budget" contained within this grant; and what is its purpose; and

Lord Adonis: The partners involved in the development of the national school sport competition framework are: the Department for Education and Skills; the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; the Youth Sport Trust; the National Council for School Sport; Sport England; county sport partnerships; national governing bodies of sport; national school sports associations; and school sport partnerships and their schools.
	The national governing bodies for the following sports were consulted in connection with the national school sport competition framework: angling; archery; athletics; badminton; basketball; bowls; canoeing; cricket; cycling; equestrian; football; golf; gymnastics; hockey; judo; karate; mountaineering; netball; orienteering; rounders; rowing; rugby league; rugby union; sailing; squash; swimming; table tennis; tennis; triathlon; and volleyball.
	School sport competition development bulletins provide regular updates of latest developments concerning about the national school sport competition framework. These can be found at www.teachernet.gov.uk/pe. A copy of the latest bulletin will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	The following school sport partnerships have been sent grant letters authorising them to put in hand arrangements for appointing competition managers: (Cornwall) Callington; Mounts Bay; Penryn; Poltair; (Greater Manchester) Brookway; Our Lady's; Tameside; Wright Robinson; (Hampshire) Bridgemary; Hamble; Henry Cort; Toynbee; (East Sussex) Beacon; Dorothy Stringer; Hailsham; William Parker; (West Yorkshire); Oakbank; Priesthorpe; St Mary's; and Thornton. All of these partnerships are in the process of appointing competition managers which will be in place by September 2005.
	It is for individual School Sport Partnerships to decide precisely how they deploy the £37,500 grant for managers. In doing so, they will take into account local needs and circumstances. However, as a rough guide, my department has suggested that a salary range of between £25,000 and £28,000 would be appropriate. The remainder of the grant will then make up a modest budget which the competition managers will use to help them plan, manage and implement a programme of inter-school competition within their School Sport Partnership and to reach out into national governing body school sport competitions.

Neonatal Care

Baroness Goudie: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What research has been undertaken to evaluate the link between the use of positive touch and improved outcomes for sick and premature babies; and
	What plans they have to introduce a national strategy on developmental care in neonatal units.

Lord Warner: There has been a great deal of research on the benefits of touching for the development of babies. This is the generally accepted standard practice. However, this is a question of professional judgement, rather than government policy.

NHS: Suspensions

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many National Health Service consultants are currently suspended from duty, or excluded from work (a) in total; (b) following visits or inspections by the Healthcare Commission; or (c) following whistle-blowing by the consultants concerned about standards of care.

Lord Warner: The most recent data collected by the National Clinical Assessment Service (now part of the National Patient Safety Agency) show that in the fourth quarter of 2004, 19 doctors were suspended for six months or more. NCAS does not collect specific data on suspensions related to incidents of whistle-blowing or following visits or inspections by the Healthcare Commission.

NHS Estates

Baroness Noakes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 27 June (WA 7), which individual items were sold to the former management of Inventures; and how much was paid for each item; and
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 27 June (WA 7), what estimates they obtained of the open market value of residual assets sold to the former management of Inventures prior to agreeing the sale of those items; and
	Whether the Department of Health or any National Health Service body will be purchasing goods or services from the former management of Inventures; and, if so, on what terms.

Lord Warner: The assets sold to the former Inventures management consist of a range of computer equipment such as laptops and printers; furniture and other office equipment; publicity material; website domain names and intangibles. All of these assets were deemed surplus to requirements to both NHS Estates and the Department of Health. As many assets as possible were valued using current market prices (via internet distributors; PC World etc) on equipment with a similar specification and depreciated accordingly, or at a price equivalent to that offered by the relevant manufacturer/distributor to return goods for onward resale. Other assets where a market value was not available were valued at an amount as close to net book value as possible.
	The total price paid was £23,003 and a list of the items sold is set out in the table.
	
		
			 Description OMV @31/05/05 Agreed Price 
			 4 Servers and associated switches 5,775 8,365 
			 LaserJet printers and several plotters 1,199 1,883 
			 Desktops and associated monitors and scanners 710 2,316 
			 Sundry office equipment 350 814 
			 22 desks, chairs and sundry Inventures literature 1,300 1,800 
			 Dell 600 laptops and Toshiba laptops (28 in total) 6,650 6,822 
			 Website 0 1,000 
			 Trademarks, intangibles 0 3 
			  15,984 23,003. 
		
	
	Inventures had a number of contracts with the National Health Service, and the Department of Health agreed that it would not stand in the way of trusts continuing to receive the service if they wished. The department also agreed to pay the ex-managers a fee to collect the outstanding debts of the old company.

NHS: Land Use and Sales

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much of the land sold off by the National Health Service since 1997 has (a) been built upon for housing; (b) been built upon for other purposes; (c) received planning permission for housing; (d) received planning permission for other purposes; and (e) not yet received planning permission.

Lord Warner: The information requested is not collected centrally. The majority of sites that are sold for redevelopment are developed for housing. In most instances, planning consent will have been obtained prior to a sale.

NHS: Land Use and Sales

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What proportion of the land owned by the National Health Service has not been built upon.

Lord Warner: In 2003–04, the National Health Service in England owned or leased about 21,500 acres of land. In the same period, buildings it owned or leased occupied a total site footprint of about 3,600 acres. The remainder was devoted mainly to road infrastructure, car parks and landscaping.

NHS: Information Systems

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 28 June (WA 19) (a) what mechanisms are in place to identify an attack on the information systems of the National Health Service that affect more than one site; (b) whether the National Health Service has a system for wider learning from failures in information security at individual sites; and (c) if there is no such mechanism or system in place, how they propose to ensure that patient safety will not be compromised as a result of attacks on National Health Service information systems.

Lord Warner: The National Health Service benefits from a diverse range of implemented information security services at national and local levels aimed to protect NHS digital communications infrastructure and digital applications from attack. These security arrangements actively involve the providers of key NHS digital services and enable the early identification, assessment and mitigation of security threats that have the potential to affect one or more NHS bodies or services. In addition to these implemented safeguards, the NHS maintains an effective liaison with the United Kingdom's information security authorities and others for the sharing of relevant advice and guidance on known information security threats and vulnerabilities. A new NHS system for the analysis of reported information system security events at both national and local levels is planned that will further extend future NHS information security capability and knowledge sharing opportunity.

Obesity

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What priority they attach to addressing the problems of overweight and obesity at primary care level; what plans they have to increase the number of points available under the general practitioner's contract for actions directly related to these problems; and whether any increase in points allocation will be linked to success in reducing obesity as opposed to measuring the scale of the problem.

Lord Warner: The quality and outcomes framework is currently being reviewed by all parties as part of the new General Medical Services negotiations, led by NHS Employers. NHS Employers has engaged the University of Birmingham to form an expert panel which received submissions of evidence by the end of May 2005 for inclusion in its review. The Department of Health has submitted proposals for new indicators on obesity for the panel's consideration.

Physical Education, School Sport and Club Links

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether a physical education, school sport and club links survey was commissioned for 2004–05.

Lord Adonis: Yes.

Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005: Control Order Powers

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many of the several hundred terrorists stated by the Prime Minister in a Woman's Hour broadcast to be on the streets of Britain are now subject to constraints under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 5 July 2005 (Official Report, WA 79).

Prisons: Educational Materials Budget

Lord Lucas: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the budget for educational equipment and materials for the current year in HM Prison Service.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The total planned budget for educational materials within the public sector HM Prison Service, the Youth Justice Board and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate is £4,327,057.

Prisons: Staff Training Budget

Lord Lucas: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the budget for staff training for the current year in HM Prison Service.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Prison Service's training and development group (TDG) has a current year budget of £17,482,000 for staff training. In addition to direct spend on training, this figure is inclusive of running costs for the training estate, salaries of TDG staff and other non-training expenses. In addition to this central training budget, other Prison Service headquarters groups provide training (for example, finance and health and safety) and a significant amount of local training is carried out at individual prison establishments, which carry a separate budget. A breakdown of these budgets for the current year indicates an additional budget of more than £5 million for staff training.

Privacy: Data Protection

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have proposals to ensure that individuals affected by breaches of privacy caused by mistakes made by (a) government and other public bodies; and (b) commercial undertakings should be notified by those concerned.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: A range of remedies are available for individuals when their right to privacy has been infringed, including the Data Protection Act 1998.
	In addition, the Act, reflecting Directive 95/46/EC (The Data Protection Directive), requires data controllers to implement appropriate security measures to protect personal data (the seventh data protection principle).
	However, there is no requirement on a data controller proactively to inform a data subject when an infringement has occurred, whether from a mistake or because of hacking or other forms of data theft. At present the Government have no plans or proposals in this area.

Public Order: Illegal Raves

Lord Bradshaw: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the police have up-to-date and adequate powers to deal effectively with the activities of those involved in organising illegal raves.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Government believe that illegal raves are not acceptable and should not become an opportunity or an excuse for disorder and anti-social behaviour. Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 allows police to direct rave goers to leave an event. If they refuse, police are provided with a power of arrest. They also have powers to seize sound equipment in certain circumstances. The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 extended these powers so that they apply to trespassory indoor raves and raves of 20 or more people. It is also an offence for a person given a direction under Section 63 to attend any other trespassory rave within 24 hours.

Racially Motivated Incidents

Lord Ouseley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the extent of reported and recorded racially motivated incidents against people of Chinese origin in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Schools: Financial Capability Education

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will now consider making teaching of personal financial management in schools, currently discretionary, compulsory.

Lord Adonis: Personal finance education is covered in the curriculum through the non-statutory framework for personal, social and health education (PSHE), and through subjects such as citizenship, mathematics and business studies. The department recognises the importance of financial education in enabling young people to develop the financial capability they need to make informed decisions.
	In the 14–19 Education and Skills White Paper, the department has set out our commitment to supporting financial capability education. In line with the emphasis on improving functional skills set out in the White Paper and as part of the wider review of GCSE maths, we have asked the QCA to consider including financial capability more explicitly in the maths curriculum.

Sea Fishing (Restriction of Days at Sea) Order 2005

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the Secretary of State may, under Article 4(2)(b) of the Sea Fishing (Restriction of Days at Sea) Order 2005, allocate "further days" of absence from port to cod fisherman, but not to those fishing for sole under Article 14(2); and why a fisherman mixing species including cod is guilty of an offence under Article 8, while a fisherman mixing species including sole is allowed up to 50 kilograms of the latter under Article 18.

Lord Bach: The order simply implements EU rules which provide separate management arrangements for cod and sole, to reflect the relative status of the stocks. These do not permit additional days (above the basic monthly allocation) to be granted to vessels subject to the sole recovery arrangements in the western English Channel. They do, however, provide slightly more flexible controls for sole (for example with regard to storage) which is considered to be a less vulnerable stock than cod.

Special Advisers

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 15 June (WA 135), what their reasons are for not publishing the number of special advisers serving within the Prime Minister's Office in each year between 1997 and 2001 when those advisers were supported out of public funds; and
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 15 June (WA 135), why the information requested on special advisers employed by the Government between May 1997 and May 2001 is not available centrally when the appointment of special advisers is approved by the Prime Minister, and the persons concerned were supported out of public funds.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Since 1997, the Government have published regular updates on the numbers and overall cost of special advisers, and this information is available in the Library of the House. However, the detailed information provided since 2001 is not held in a similar format for earlier years, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Tax Credits

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What interim information is available on excess tax credit payments and overpayments in 2004–05.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Estimates of numbers and values of overpayments or underpayments for 2004–05 awards at 5 April 2005 will be published in spring 2006, after all the awards are finalised.

Turkey: Religious Affairs

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to make representations to the government of Turkey supporting the re-opening of the Greek Orthodox Christian seminary on the island of Heybeli, near Istanbul, which was shut by Turkish authorities in 1971.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: We continue to urge the Turkish Government to reopen the Halki Greek Orthodox Seminary on Heybeli that closed in 1971. Most recently, our ambassador in Ankara raised the issue with the State Minister for Religious Affairs on 31 March 2005, and with the acting head of the EU Secretariat General on 29 June 2005. The Turkish Government have repeated their commitment to re-opening and are searching for a solution which is both compatible with Turkish law and acceptable to the Patriarchate. We, and our EU partners, will continue to press the Turkish authorities to fulfil their obligations to safeguard freedom of religion.

Turkey: Religious Affairs

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have made to the government of Turkey over the treatment of the congregations and churches of the Syrian Orthodox Christians in that country; and when these representations were last made.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: We continue to urge the Turkish Government to resolve the difficulties experienced by Christian communities in Turkey, especially in respect of their legal and property rights. The British Ambassador to Turkey raised this with the Foreign Minister on 22 May 2005 and with the State Minister for Religious Affairs on 31 March 2005. We understand that a new law on foundations is expected very soon that should go some way towards resolving the difficulties faced by non-Muslim religious communities.
	The head of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Istanbul, Archbishop Cetin, told UK officials in December 2004 that Christians still experienced difficulties in Turkey. However, he also said that, as a result of EU harmonisation reforms, his community now found it easier to worship and that attitudes towards them had changed.

Zimbabwe

Lord Steinberg: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will make a formal complaint against Zimbabwe in the United Nations and at the G8 summit.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: In the United Nations Security Council on 30 June, in response to a briefing by Jim Morris, Head of the World Food Programme, the British Permanent Representative made clear the Government's views that the current human rights abuses and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe were created by Mugabe's bad policies and bad governance. He welcomed the UN Secretary-General's decision to send a special representative to Zimbabwe and called for Anna Tibaijuka's report to be considered by the UN Security Council.
	G8 Foreign Ministers on 23 June called on Zimbabwe to respect human rights. The focus on Africa at Gleneagles is on ending conflict, supporting peace and security, tackling corruption and promoting a free media throughout Africa. An important part of this will be encouraging African regional organisations to take stronger measures against countries which are failing this agenda, like Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe: Asylum Seekers

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are operating a de facto moratorium on the forcible return of failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I can confirm that there is no moratorium on the removal of failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe. As I explained to the House last week, each person's case is assessed on its individual merits.